The sealing grand formation above the courtyard dissolved like shattered ice, and rainbow beams of blood qi shot into the sky.
More than thirty human-shaped fireballs rose into the air, trailing white smoke and cursing as they headed straight for their respective cave dwellings.
Every streaking figure unconsciously rubbed his lower back as he flew.
Outside the courtyard, Huo Ling'er lifted her skirts and craned her neck to peek inside suspiciously, with an equally bewildered Xia Youyu following behind her.
"Was that just... the Pavilion Master?"
Sharp-eyed Huo Ling'er spotted the old man flying fastest. His white beard was practically on fire, and even his topknot had gone crooked.
Then she leaped into the courtyard ahead of Xia Youyu.
Once she saw the scene before her, Huo Ling'er stopped dead, then burst into laughter as bright as silver bells.
"Pfft... hahaha! You little brats, what happened to you?"
In the middle of the courtyard, Shi Hou leaned against a stone slab, utterly unruffled.
His already none-too-clean beast-hide outfit was covered in densely packed shoe prints.
On his left shoulder, the golden Furball had a bruised face and swollen nose. He tugged at Shi Hou's braid, spraying spit as he squeaked furiously. From his tone, he sounded exactly like a woman hurling abuse in a marketplace.
On his right shoulder, Kang's pitch-black fleshy wings drooped as he grunted nonstop, all four hooves clamped desperately around Shi Hou's dark skin.
Meanwhile, in a corner, Shi Hao-normally as fair and spotless as a porcelain doll-had a face covered in ash and a purple-black bruise around his left eye: a textbook panda eye.
Hearing the commotion, Shi Hao patted his backside and stood up. He quickly straightened his dirt-covered clothes and puffed out his little chest.
"They saw my heaven-bestowed divine talent and insisted